Ocean discovery: Pacific bluefin tuna confirmed in Victorian waters

Record-breaking sea-surface temperatures in a crucial Pacific Ocean region have sparked alarm that 2026 could mark the hottest year on record, as an intensifying El Niño amplifies global warming, the European Union’s climate monitoring agency announced on Monday. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, ocean temperatures in the Niño 3.4 monitoring zone surged to a staggering 29.7 degrees Celsius in September, surpassing the highest readings observed during the El Niño events of 1982-83, 1997-98, and 2015-16.

Forecasts from global weather experts have been warning for months that the current El Niño could rank among the most powerful on record, with temperature records already being shattered before the phenomenon is expected to peak later this year.

El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon characterized by the temporary warming of sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific. This alteration can disrupt weather patterns worldwide, raising the risk of droughts and floods, while exacerbating the warming caused by human activities. However, Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus, cautioned that it is premature to determine whether the ongoing episode, which began in June, will be the strongest ever recorded.

The agency has now incorporated a new index that factors in warming across the tropical oceans, and preliminary data from this index indicate that the current event has not yet surpassed the intensity of earlier El Niño episodes.